My name is Andy Gosnold, it's a pleasure to meet you!

I have always been fascinated by people.

I worked it the IT Industry for 33 years, 25 of those leading high performing client-facing teams. I specialised in driving transformational change through organisations and very quickly realised that the biggest obstacle to change was fear of change. So my biggest challenge and my focus was on people.

One of my greatest rewards in life is seeing people realising their potential and living better lives. Sometimes people need help to do this, and this is why I do what I do now.

I've had the privilege of working with many incredible and talented people over the years. Interestingly almost everyone I come across has something they would like to change about themselves. 

• It may be something comparatively insignificant, but perhaps is holding them back from achieving more. 
• It may be something huge that is having a devastating effect on their daily life. 
• Or somewhere in between.

My working life is focused on guiding people to create the life they want to live.

I practice Quest Cognitive Hypnotherapy and Coaching, drawing upon a number of disciplines including Ericksonian Hypnotherapy, NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), Positive Psychology, Evolutionary Psychology, Parts Therapy, Gestalt Therapy, CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), Timeline Therapy, EMI (Eye Movement Integration) and more.

I work with organisations looking to provide resilience and wellbeing support for their staff.

I am a registered member of:

• The Complimentary & Natural Healthcare Council
• The National Council for Hypnotherapy
• The Quest Cognitive Hypnotherapy Practitioners Association

I am bound by the strict codes of Ethics and Conduct these organisations demand and I am committed to the regular continual professional development (CPD) they require in order to maintain my registration.

In addition to my private work, I volunteer as an I am an Anxiety UK Approved Therapist and deliver talking therapy services for the charity’s members and partner beneficiaries. For more information on Anxiety UK click here.

Outside of my work, I get personal satisfaction from volunteering.

I sit on a local NHS Primary Care Network focus group, representing patient's voices, exploring issues from complaints and patient surveys, contributing to action plans & helping monitor improvements and supporting health awareness.

I am an Independent Advisor for Essex Police, sitting on 3 separate committees focussing on:

• Policing generally in my local area
• Police Training and Development for the whole of Essex
• Custody scrutiny

I am a volunteer Marine Mammal Medic for the British Divers Marine Life Rescue charity, which involves:

• Responding to call-outs for rescue of seals, dolphins, porpoises and whales in difficulty around the UK coastline.
• Transportation of seals between rehabilitation centres.
• Return of seals to their natural habitat once rehabilitated

If you are interested in finding out how we can work together, I offer a free-of-charge telephone consultation to potential clients. 

It's important to me to really understand what you want to achieve from our work together and for you to have the chance to discuss your needs before you commit to working with me. 

This is usually a fairly short chat lasting around 20-30 minutes.  

The working relationship created between you and a therapist is vital to a successful outcome for you, so it is very important for you to work with a hypnotherapist who is qualified and with whom you feel comfortable.  

From our initial discussion, we will meet in person or online to create a treatment plan for you, based on your needs and what it is you want to achieve from our work together. After the initial phone chat it is normal to have between 2 and 4 sessions, although some clients find they need more depending upon what they need to achieve.

I will only work with clients I believe I can help. If I don't believe we can work together I will endeavour to point you in the right direction to get help elsewhere.  

As a member of the National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH) I am bound by strict codes of ethics and conduct - client safety and confidentiality is paramount.   

My practice is covered by very clear guidelines and there are certain people who I cannot work with.  

• If you are already working with another therapist I will not be able to work with you.  

If you have ever been diagnosed with any form of psychosis I am afraid that I will not be able to work with you.  

• Conditions include Bi-Polar Disorder, Schizophrenia and Personality Disorder.

Quest Cognitive Hypnotherapy (QCH) launched a unique research project in 2011. 

Using a team of QCH therapists, clients with anxiety and depression were assessed using the same outcome measures currently used to assess the effectiveness of talking therapies within the NHS. 

The pilot study was published in the Mental Health Review Journal in 2015. It recorded that, using 118 cases measuring the effectiveness of Cognitive Hypnotherapy for the treatment of depression and anxiety, 71% considered themselves recovered after an average of 4 sessions. 

This compared to an average of 42% for other approaches using the same measures (like CBT). To our knowledge, this is the only hypnotherapy approach to have been validated in this way. 

For further information concerning the research project and pilot study please visit the Mental Health Review Journal page.